Cow Milk in Middle of Night & Other ?S About Feeding 1 Year Old

Updated on September 30, 2008
N.L. asks from Holmes, NY
4 answers

I'm a 1st time mom and must confess, extremly nervous about what and how to feed my now 1 year old baby. She has had infant acid reflux & was on Alimentum 'till now, I have been really concious and protective over anything she ate and now I feel like I have to dramatically shift and I'm at a loss. Also note that she's a mini thing which I constantly have to talk myself out of worrying about (25th percentile for weight- wish I could say the same for me!). She's never been a big eater, at least as far as milk or baby food is concerned. But she loves carbs and anything she can sink all those teeth into (8 of them since she was 8 months old and getting 2-4 more now!). Doc says give her whole cow milk for starters but she takes a bottle at 5am then goes back to sleep. Can I/Should I give it to her straight from fridge? We have a mini-fridge upstairs but no microwave to heat it up or any other quick way- I'm already sleep deprived, is it really important I trudge downstairs to do so & I'm afraid she'll be hysterical by the time I come back up, then she won't fall back asleep. Or should I just keep her on formula for that one? Doc also says to feed her any and everything so long as it is pasteurized & kept assuting me of it but this is hard to believe considering all her pervious food sensitivities (with the acidity). And can anyone give me an example of a typical daily diet/schedule for a 1 year old? I'm really stressed trying to figure this out b/c to top it off, she won't ever drink an 8 ounce anything. Typically she'll drink 4- 5 ounces in one shot, no matter what it is. So I really need to figure out how to get enough dairy in her but still have other food involved. And it really can't be baby jar food or even baby cereal b/c she just doesn't like it. She will eat the yogurt & I'm trying cheese later today. HELP!!!

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

S.S.

answers from Glens Falls on

She should have 16oz of whole milk worth of calcium a day. But 8 oz of milk = 3 oz of cheese... or something close to that. It can be found online, google calcium conversion. You'll find what yogurt, cheese, etc you can substitute. There is no reason to warm milk, there is no reason to warm formula really, except that babies usually drink it easier that way. My son liked his cold and his doctor said that was fine, no harm at all. As for juice: ages 1-6 years they should have no more than 6oz of juice a day because it is full of sugar. Yes, even the 'no sugar added'. So make sure you water down the juice, unless she is only getting one 6oz cup a day. (Ages 7-12 should have no more than 12oz a day)
Lastly, take a deep breath. You're doing fine. If she's in the 25th percentile then she's still on the chart and that means she's healthy.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

A.J.

answers from Albany on

Hi N.. First of all you need to take a deep breath and relax. You are doing way too much stressing. Your daughter does not need formula anymore just as your dr. said. Yes, she should be on whole milk but that means with meals. She doe not need to have that 5 am feeding.

What you need to do is train her to sleep without it. You can either make sure she has enough to eat during the day, including the amount of whole milk she should be getting (warm or cold - whatever she'll drink), so she'll not wake up so early to eat. Or you can put her to bed a bit later, but not too late, 8:00 is the latest in my opinion.

She should be waking at around 6:30, have breakfast and go down for a nap 1 -2 hours after she woke up. When she wakes up from nap sit her down at the table and give her a sippy cup with milk and a banana or something else healthy. Then playtime. Lunch at 11:00ish should consist of a protein, a dairy, grain, and fruit. Time for another nap. When she wakes another cup of milk and healthy snack. Playtime. Dinner. Play, bath, bed between 7 & 8pm.

My kids never drank milk, they hated it as do I. Instead I gave them calcium fortified o.j., cottage cheese, yogurt, parmassean on pasta, cheerios with milk, etc. Also make sure she takes her multi-vitamin daily. Don't bother with babyfood any more. With all those teeth grown-up food cut up is just fine.

She'll be fine. It is a lot of work but it'l get easier.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.C.

answers from New York on

Another really good food to try is avocado. It's smooth and creamy (you can mush it up really well before feeding it to her) and it's high in good fat and vitamins.

Try giving her some mini pasta, too. You can add vegies to it as a sauce (puree tomoato and zuchini - yum). Also, you can add a little cheese (parm or ricotta).

Ricotta cheese and fruit is a nice substitute for yogurt. Keep offering her fruit and veggies with every meal - she'll start to like them.

And what about bananas? All kids love bananas! And try oatmeal for brakfast. For extra nutrition, make it yourself using steel cut oats and add banana once it's cooked. Puree it. Make a lot and freeze it in batches. If she'll eat carbs, maybe she'll eat a whole grain blueberry waffle?

I think that once you get more food into her she may not wake up so early! Also, try putting a sippy cup of water in her crib. Maybe she will nip at that and fall back asleep.

At 1, your baby needs to eat 3 meals and several snacks a day plus 16-24 oz. of whole milk.

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

D.

answers from New York on

First, take a deep breath. If your stressed out about all this she will be too. Calm down, take a step back and relax. The more your relaxed the more she will be. You don't have to heat her milk. Offer it cold. If she doesn't like it she'll let you know. If you do have to heat it 25 sec is enough for 6 oz But my daughter wouldn't take it warm through the summer so she gets it mostly straight out of the fridge now. My daughter is 14 mos old now. She gets a bottle before bed and 1 first thing in the morning. Other then that she only gets milk with meals. The rest of the time it's juice (cut 50/50 with water) or just water. Don't worry about how much she's consuming, as long as she gains weight that's all that matters. The percentile thing will change from visit to visit. My son has gone from the 90th to the 40th 3 mos later. As long as she's gaining weight she's fine. As for the food schedule, but her on the same one as you. Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. At normal times. You may also need to add a morning snack. And possibly an afternoon one. You can offer other things to add to her dairy. Give her grilled cheese for lunch and yogurt for snack (they have baby yogurt). My daughter and son for that matter never drank 8 oz at a time. Let her eat until she's full, and don't force more then that. This will help her learn not to over eat. Don't worry about clean plates and stuff. When she's done that's it. She will tell you what she wants when. She's getting to the point now where she can point and make noises, pay attention she'll let you know. But sit back and follow her clues. Enjoy this time, and if you relax she will too. This is when she starts to get fun.

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions